TLOS: why we fight
by Jvuk487
Summary: after malefores defeat, cynder wakes to find the world is right again, or so it seems. sinister things are preparing and going unnoticed in the shadows and deep places but spyro is missing! she sets off to find him, but will she? and if she does, can she come to terms with her feelings for him? I suck at summaries. read if you want, or don't. just trying my hand at writing
1. Chapter 1

TLOS: why we fight

**AN: this is my first fanfic so pleases don't hate. This is a spyro/cynder fic, and im going to start it at a T rating, but may move it up to m later if that is wanted. I've tried writing before, but have never liked how it would turn out. This is my first step in opening up my writing to others. I've always been a huge fan of the legend of spyro games and really wish they had gone a bit more into what happened after malefore was defeated. So here is my take at it! Enjoy!**

cynder was slowly waking up, stretching and rubbing the sleep from her eyes with her front paws. yawning she sat up on her haunches and ,through half lidded eyes, glanced around without much thought. "why am I in this field?" she mutters to herself, "where is the temple?"

then it hit her like a ton of bricks and her eyes flew wide. Shouldn't she be at the realms core with spyro? And should they be dead? As she began to remember their final fight with malefore, she sighed as she remembered his final words as he disappeared into the core. Then she blushed a bit as she recalled her last words to spyro before blacking out.

"wait" she said aloud, "spyro!" she stood up quickly and looked in all directions. Where was he!? She needed to find him and make sure he was ok. "Spyro! Spyro where are you!" she shouted at the top of her lungs as she attempted to take flight. She only got about three feet before crashing back into the ground. She stood up confused and looked back. Her wings were there, but when she went to unfold them, she winced in pain. Her wings felt like they were on fire, so she folded them to her side and began searching for spyro again.

She noticed that she was in the avalarian valley. The first place she looked was the near by supply cave, but there was no trace of him. She then checked the dock where they found the raft. Still, no sign of spyro. shechecked a few other places but found nothing. she was getting rather worried by this point "no. he cant be gone! Not after all we went through!" she said determinedly. "wait! He could be at the village!" she said excitedly. She ran as fast as she could towards the cheetah village. When she reached her destination, she bound into the village shouting "spyro! Answer me, where are you! Spyro!" her shouting woke the guard who was supposed to be on duty. Luckily no one had noticed him drift off, or chief prowlus would have his hide for it. "ho! Who goes there!?" he shouted, "only those with chief prowlus' permission may enter!" he ran towards her and took up a defensive stance with his sword drawn.

Cynder stopped yelling to see who was coming, when she heard his shout and saw his sword drawn. Cynder said, "my name is cynder. Iv helped this village out before, spyro and I helped defend it from the grubblins and found medow." The cheetah relaxed his stance but kept his sword drawn. "you know spyro? Where the hell is he then? I would gladly like to meet the worlds savior." He asked sarcastically.

"so spyro's not here then?" she asked with a quivering voice, " then where could he be? He can't be dead. damn it! I won't believe that." The cheetah slowly walked up to her. As he approached, he wondered to himself "_cynder. Iv heard that name before, but where from? oh shit! The terror of the skies!? But she doesn't look like that big of a threat. Still better be careful." _he stopped a few feet short of her_ "but wasn't spyro travelling with a dragon named cynder when he helped us? Is this really her? and if so, is she still evil or has she changed? plus shouldn't spyro be near by as well?"_ he contemplated these and said aloud, "how do I know who you say you are if you have no proof? If you had spyro with you I may believe you more readily."

At this moment chief prowlus ran up beside him. "I heard yelling, what in the hell is goin…." Prowlus trailed off when he looked passed the guard and saw cynder sitting there. "cynder? Is that you?" he asked with a bit of aw in his voice, "we thought you and spyro were dead! It has been almost three months since you two went to face malefore. It is good to see you alive and well! But where is spyro? Is he not with you?"

With some effort cynder opened her mouth and spoke "im not sure where he is, or even if…" she paused "if he is alive. I was hoping that he would be here." She sat back on her haunches with a worried expression. Prowlus walked up and put a comforting paw on her shoulder. "where have you looked for him so far? Maybe he is still unconscious somewhere." Prowlus asked. He looked over his shoulder at the guard, "you, whats your name?" he asked with a stern voice.

"M-m-my name is swift sir." The guard said while hastily standing at attention. "grab a few more guards and ready for a search, and do it quickly! We need to help cynder find spyro, and hell take me if we don't find him soon" prowlus growled as he comforted cynder. "Y-yes sir!" swift said as he saluted and ran to find a few more guards.

Cynder looked to prowlus and said with a shaky voice "thank you for this, ill help look for him as well. I just hope he is okay" Prowlus nodded and stood "I wish you luck in finding him. I would get hunter to help if he were here, but he is at warfang helping the moles with the cities reconstruction" cynder nodded and stood as swift came back around the corner with four others.

she faced the group and said "Iv already looked through the supply cave and the dock, we should start by scouring the west side of the valley and work our way back up the east." As cynder finished saying this and turned to walk away she heard prowlus say "split into groups of two, don't loose sight of your partner. We don't know if there are any more grubblins about. Swift!" swift started but stood before his chief, "go with cynder, if your alright with that?" prowlus asked with a raised eyebrow. Cynder ruffled her wings in the dragons version of a shrug "as long as he doesn't slow me down im fine with it" she said. " good!" said prowlus "now that that's settled, I expect this party to be back by nightfall! Good luck and watch yourselves."

The party began to work their way down the western edge of the river. as they searched they found nothing. not even a claw print or disturbed bush. after an hour or two they were near the end of the valley. Swift was looking with as much concentration as he could muster while still keeping track of cynder. "nothing here!" he heard the group in the next glade over shouted. "same here!" came a slightly more distant yell. He looked to cynder who shook her head "nothing over here either!" swift yelled back. "let's move to the east side of the river and work our way back up!" he called.

A few moments later the other two groups walked into the grove. "this is taking longer than I thought it would, and why do we need to help these 'high-and-mighty' dragons who treat us like shit?" one of the guards complained to his friend who shook his head and gestured at cynder, who was only a few feet away. At hearing this cynder replied quietly "if you are tired of searching, you don't need to stay. I can find him on my own. If we are so much better, as you claim we see ourselves, I wonder why spyro faced down malefore and all his minions for the likes of you. Sure! We obviously treat you like shit when spyro probably gave his life to make yours better." She turned and stormed to the edge of the river and made to jump over it. "wait!" said swift. Cynder stopped and glared at them over her shoulder. "he didn't mean it like that, we just didn't expect to go on a man search today. It's just kind of sudden" he said. "yeah, sorry if I sounded disrespectful, I was only running my mouth. I still want to help" added the guard who was looking at the ground in shame.

Cynder scoffed and turned to face them, "ok, I forgive you. so let's get back to searching then. If you can put up with a 'high-and-mighty' dragon for a bit longer" she exclaimed with a snicker at the guard who had complained, as she made a soaring jump to the opposite bank of the river, gliding to help her make the jump. The guard looked at the ground in shame as the others chuckled at his predicament. The cheetahs made their way across as well and they began to work back up the valley.

A few hours later they were back at their starting point and had still found nothing. The cheetahs had given up and were heading back to the village. "you can stay inside for the night if you want" swift offered, but cynder declined politely, Instead choosing to stay under the big tree at the rivers fork.

As she lay down wondering if she would ever see spyro again and letting her mind wander, the moon broke through the cloud cover, bathing everything she could see in a silvery light. Cynder lay her head down on her paws looking out over the river. She sighed and tried to sleep, but sleep would not come. She lay awake for a few hours hoping spyro was ok before finally drifting slowly into sleep. As sleep finally began to take full hold of her, she caught a slight glimmer from the corner of her eye, but was too groggy and tired to check it out. So she fell asleep thinking nothing of it.

**So that's it for chapter one. Not the longest chapter, but I'll try to make them a little longer as I go. Ill try to update biweekly but if not it shouldn't be more than a month at a time, sorry but I don't wright quickly. It's just the way it is. Please review and give me some feedback though! I'm already working on the next chapter, but any ideas will be considered and I might work them into the story a little later on.**

**JVuk out!**


	2. Chapter 2

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 2

**Here's the next chapter! I'm going a bit more in depth with my OC swift and a few others who may pop up a few times. It's been a hectic time to write this. My mother was admitted to the hospital this morning with some rather bad food poisoning, so sorry if it's not the best. Enjoy though!**

Cynder was awakened by a stray beam of sunlight that, somehow, made it through the trees low hanging branches and leaves. She grumbled as she raised her head to avoid the light. She cracked her eyes slightly and looked around for a bit, taking in the view bathed in an early morning light. Once her eyes had adjusted to the light, she lowered her head down onto her paws, but facing the cheetah village instead of out to the river and cliffs beyond. As she sat staring blankly into the distance she noticed two figures leaving the village gates. The figures were clearly making their way towards Cynder, so she decided to sit and wait for them.

As Cynder waited for the two, she climbed into a sitting position and went about testing her wings again. She unfurled them slowly until they had reached their full span. Cynder slowly flapped her wings to get the blood flowing through them again, but noticed how stiff and sore they were. She slowly continued to flap them and rotate them about as if doing a complex series of aerial maneuvers. As she worked her wings about the stiffness and some of the soreness left them, leaving her with the thought that she could fly once again, but only for a short while.

As Cynder finished her inspection of her wings, she turned back to find that the two people, Prowlus and Swift, were only a few yards away. "how faired the night out here?" Prowlus called in greeting. "What sleep I did get was peaceful. And how was the night in town?" she replied. Prowlus opened his mouth to answer her, but was beat to it by swift. "just the same old things. Shift changes, a drunken brawl or two, that kind of thing." Swift said nonchalantly while looking to his right and unintentionally locking eyes with prowlus, who was standing with his arms crossed and with a rather impatient look on his face.

"If your quite done boy, maybe we can begin?" Prowlus said with a hint of humor in his voice. Swift looked away quickly due to his embarrassment at interrupting his chief, which drew a light chuckle from Cynder and Prowlus both. "So where have we searched so far?" Prowlus asked the two of them. Not wanting to interrupt anyone again Swift stayed quiet until Cynder gestured to him with her wing. "We scoured the east and west banks of the river, along with re-checking the docks and supply cave. Some of the others checked a few of the glades further away from the river to the east, but were met with only frustration and nothing." Swift reported. "I do have a few more places in mind to check, but I don t know if the cheetahs can come along Prowlus. Simply because most of them you need wings to reach, unless they had some pretty amazing climbing skills." Cynder added.

"Ok, but I still want you to take Swift here with you, if you don't mind. He is the best climber and long distance jumper we have. He practically invented a sport we call parkour, which many of our young like to partake in. plus I'd feel better knowing you had someone to watch your back while you are out there." Prowlus said. Swift looked surprised at the praise he'd received from his chief, but in a happy kind of surprise.

Cynder thought it over for a bit before saying "I don't mind, as long as he doesn't slow me down or get himself killed." "ill try my best, but no promises" joked Swift. Prowlus shook his head slightly "well as long as your okay with it. Good luck to you, may today be the day we find him." Prowlus said before turning to walk back to the village. "oh! And im sorry to say this but this will be the last day we can assist in the search. Sorry, but there is just too much going on and, as head officer of the guard, Swift needs to prepare for the new recruits coming in a few weeks." Prowlus yelled to them before heading back to the village.

At hearing this, Cynder's hope and stature seemed to diminish noticeably. Seeing this, Swift gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. Cynder turned to look him over fully for the first time. Swift was built much like hunter, in fact he and Swift may be related by the look of it. He had pale blue fur covered in black molted shapes, and his fur lightened to a slightly off white color around the muzzle, fore, and rear paws. His eyes were a striking gold color, and his ears were normal in shape, but had long black tufts coming off the tips, making them seem longer than they really were. The sword was clearly his weapon of choice, shown by the slightly curved scimitar hanging at his waist from a belt. The pommel was solid sapphire, and the handle was made of polished wood inlayed with white gold designs.

He wore a thick cloak with a seemingly random pattern of gray and green splotches of varying size covering it. "may I ask what the point of that cloak is?" cynder questioned. Swift looked at her in surprise. He didn't expect that. "well the distinct patterns and colors on the cloak, paired with certain movements or lack of movement, help to break up my outline and help me blend into the background if someone is looking in my direction from a distanced. The hood is deep enough to cover my entire face in shadows to help with the illusion even more. And its so thick to help keep out cold or possibly stop an arrow if I'm lucky. I can roll myself up in it while still wearing it to sleep in some comfort while still having some camouflage. " Swift explained. Cynder was amazed that such a simple piece of cloth could do so much.

"well if ive sufficiently answered your question, maybe we should start looking for spyro?" Swift asked. "yeah, your right. So lets start at the eastern cliffs and see if he is somewhere up there." Cynder said. Swift instantly groand at hearing he would be scaling those cliffs. "what? Spyro and I had no problem climbing them last time." Cynder declared "yes, but its easy for you to say. You've got wings if you fall, and I don't. how do you think I got the position of head guard? My commander was having us climb those cliffs to set up a watch tower, when he slipped and fell while trying to help one of the others catch a falling support strut."

Cynder shivered upon hearing the story. "don't worry, ill catch you if you fall. But don't be doing it too frequently, my wings still aren't fully recovered." Cynder assured him. He nodded and they set off.

A Few hours later they had searched every crack, cave and depression they could find on those cliffs, but still found nothing. They were both tired and sweaty from all the climbing, but Cynder had grabbed ahold of Swift and jumped off the edge of the last cliff to reach the ground as quickly as possible. It had left her shoulders and wings aching, but she was glad to help save him some energy. They searched a little more around the base of the cliffs but still found nothing. As darkness began to set across the valley, Swift said a quick goodbye and began the small trek back to the village.

Cynder waited for him to disappear from view before sitting down and thinking aloud to herself. "im running out of options. Maybe its time to visit the….. no! I told myself I wouldn't go back there. I hated that old man!" she said in anger as she slashed at the nearby grass with her tail scythe. She glared angrily further down the valley with a strange mix of hate and sorrow. She slumped onto the ground "but he may be the only one with a clue of where spyro is…." She said sadly at the ground.

Cynder made up her mind a few minutes later and stood up to begin her walk. She took her time reaching the destination she had in mind, thinking of what to say and what would be said in return. As she rounded the final corner, she walked along the left bank of a small stream that lead into the river. The stream started from a waterfall at the end of the small gorge. At the base of the waterfall was a small, hidden door just big enough for a cheetah to slip through. She took a deep breath to steady herself. There was only one person left to ask, and she did not plan on enjoying the visit, just like last time. She had to speak to the hermit.

As Cynder entered the hermits reclusive little area, she was on guard just in case the skeletal apes decided to attack again. She slowly approached the center of the small field but the apes didn't come. The only thing that moved was the grass in the wind. "so, she returns. But without the purple one? Maybe she completed her masters will and finished him? Or maybe he is lost and is in need of finding. Which is it terror of the skies?" a voice asked from somewhere behind her.

Cynder whipped around and crouched even further into her defensive stance, gritting her teeth at the sound of her old title. She looked around but could see nothing. That is, until he moved away from the rocks and shadows. Once he moved into clear sight, Cynder noticed he was wearing one of the cloaks Swift had explained to her. "iv come to ask if maybe spyro was here, or if you knew where he was?" Cynder asked. "Ah, so that is what you wish. He is here" the hermit pulled a brilliant purple scale out from under his cloak "but not here." He replied cryptically. Cynder gasped when she saw the scale. It was obviously one of spyros. "So you know where he is then? tell me! I need to know he is okay." Cynder exclaimed.

"but where would be the fun in that? Id rather watch you suffer for a while for what you caused than just give up what I know." The hermit said with a maniacal laugh. Cynder groweled low in her throat and lunged for him, but as she met where he should be, he was not there. He had sidestepped quickly to the right and out of harms way. The billows of the cloak and the slight swaying he did making him seem to flicker in and out of sight. Cynder roared in defiance and spewed a wave of wind at the hermit. He yelped in surprise and was thrown against a rock wall. Cynder quickly jumped over and pinned the hermit down. He laughed and threw some dirt into her eyes. She snarled and flailed about slightly, scratching at her face and eyes until she had cleared most of the dirt from them. She blinked a few times and looked around to see where he had gone, but he had faded into the shadows yet again. Cynder had one last trick to throw his way. She summoned forth her shadow powers and merged with them, feeling the way they morphed around separate shapes until she found the hermit. Identifiable by the continuous shift the shadows made around him.

The hermit looked around for the dragoness, but she seemed to have simply sank into the ground. Suddenly he was thrown headlong into the center of the clearing again. He landed on his back this time and was frozen as the wind was knocked out of his lungs. Cynder approached leisurely with a grin on her face. She sat down and waited for him to recover. "well" he demanded "aren't you going to kill me? Or torture me until you get what you want?" he grinned evily "or has the purple one made you soft? Have you lost the ability to kill? Have you become _weak_?" cynder took note of the emphasis he put on weak but ignored it. "no, spyro hasn't made me weak or soft. He has made me a better dragon by showing me compassion and mercy are more effective tools than death."

Upon hearing this the hermits face went blank. He stared at her for a while in wonder. "maybe you have changed and escaped the dark masters control." He contemplated aloud "_maybe I was wrong" _he whispered quietly. Cynder helped him up and sat back on her haunches "now, will you tell me where spyro is?" she asked. The hermit stood thinking for a while before chuckling to himself. "just because one changes doesn't mean all do." Cynder looked away sadly and got up to leave. "but I will say this much, when your hopes of finding spyro finally cave, seek out meadow for your answer lies there." He laughed aloud at his own vagueness before retreating to his small home in the cliff face.

Cynder left to head back to the tree at the rivers fork for another nights rest. She sat awake for a while, contemplating the words the hermit had given her. "So meadow had known all along? How could he keep that from me?" she asked quietly to herself. "it just makes no sense! Meadow wouldn't do that to me after what we did for him and the village! Ill talk with him tomorrow." She said as she lay her head down to sleep alone for another night.

The next morning Cynder was up and hungry. She went to the rivers edge where it had slowed to a more reasonable speed. She stared into the clear waters for a few minutes before noticing the faint movements of fish. She waited until one passed by her again and struck with her tail blade at lightning speeds. She pulled her tail out of the water to see a sparkling fish struggling on the end of it. She quickly cooked it with a blast of shadow fire and ate it quietly.

After she had finished her meal and cleaned herself off, cynder extended her wing again. There was almost no pain and only a little stiffness in the joints now. Excitedly she took a few practice flaps before jumping off the ground with a heavy downward thrust of her wings. She pumped her wings steadily as she gained height and forward momentum. She whooped joyously as she barrel rolled happily. Cynder then turned about to make her way to the village flying leisurely and testing her aerial moves again.

When Cynder reached the edge of the village she landed and walked in through the gates. As she passed through she was greeted by Swift. She yelled a greeting back over the noise of the crowds before turning and heading further into the village. Cynder wandered the town for a while until she came to the town square. The first thing Cynder noticed was the large building she assumed that contained the written records of the clan. As she watched, a few young cheetahs ran by her and towards one of the buildings. The first easily cleared the small fence next to it. The second jumped and used the top of the fence to push himself higher before flipping forward and landing in a roll. The third and final cub ran at the wall of the building and jumped at it, pushing off and using his hands to help carry him over a taller piece of the fence. "Wow" cynder said awed at the feats of dexterity and agility she had just witnessed "that must be the 'parkour' Prowlus mentioned earlier" "that it is" said a voice beside her, causing her to jump and turn in a defensive crouch. "Oh, Meadow, you scared me!" cynder said as she relaxed. Meadow laughed lightly. "sorry Cynder, I didn't mean to. But I think you know that. The only problem with parkour being taught around here is it makes it harder to keep those fools out of trouble."

As if on cue, a loud shout was heard and the same three teens came back over the fence with a chicken and a few ears of corn and a carrot or two in tow. A Cheetah came out of the gate yelling rather nasty things at the top of her lungs at the escaping kids. "You see?" said meadow sadly with a shake of his head. "But it was good seeing you again Cynder." Meadow said as he made to leave. "Wait! Meadow I actually came here today to talk to you." Cynder said quickly. He stopped midstride and turned to face her. "what about child?" he asked calmly. Cynder glanced around before asking "could we talk in a little more private of a place?" meadow smiled "my house is right over this way" he said while gesturing for Cynder to follow.

A few minutes later they arrived at Meadow's house. He sat down on a chair while she sat back on her haunches. "so. What was it you wanted to ask?" Meadow asked with a sigh. Cynder quickly retold him what had happened between the hermit and herself "so was the hermit correct? Do you know where spyro is?" Cynder asked with a pleading look in her eyes. Meadow gave a heavier sigh and ran his fingers through the hair atop his head. "Cynder…." He began "I do not know where spyro is. If I did, don't you think I'd let you or chief Prowlus know?" he said while looking at her with sadness in his voice.

Cynder couldn't believe it. This was her final lead and still nothing. She couldn't take anymore and began to break down, starting with a quiet sob. "No! no that can't be true. Damn it! You have to know where he is! The hermit said you would have the answer!" she said before breaking down crying. Meadow got up and walked over to the dragoness, giving her a gentle pat on the back and trying to clam her.

"Hey dad, im ho…" called Swift before noticing Cynder crying and sobbing. He walked over to Meadow before asking "what happened?" Meadow looked at him and said "She went to visit the hermit as a last resort. He told her I had the answer to where spyro was. She came to find me, but didn't get the answer she wanted." Swift looked at his father quickly before approaching Cynder to give her a friendly and comforting hug.

Cynder continued to bawl for another few minutes before calming down. "I-I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean t-to break down like that, its just t-that I cant believe hes gone. Weve looked everywhere I can think of! But s-s-still nothing." Cynder said shakily. "Theres no need to apologize Cynder. We understand" Meadow said. Swift agreed with his father before saying "Cynder, you should rest now. You need to sleep and recover before we can do anything else." "yes. Go rest for a while, you can use the spare bed in the guest room." Meadow added. Cynder nodded before walking limply into the spare room where she promptly fell asleep.

"When she wakes, make sure to feed her and make sure she is comfortable. I have a few questions I want to ask her about what the hermit may have said." Meadow told his son. "Yes father" replied Swift with a deep bow of respect. As Meadow walked away towards his room, Swift headed to the kitchen to grab some lunch. He found a small but freshly baked loaf of sourdough bread his father had bought in town and some salted pork. So he made a makeshift sandwich and dug in as he pondered on what to do next. He had a good five hours before his next shift, and he doubted Cynder would wake up for at least another four, judging by how exhausted she seemed.

After he had finished his lunch, he cleaned up whatever crumbs had fallen and decided to see if any of his friends were up for a little race. Swift made his way quietly out of the house and ran to the guards barracks. Once there he stopped at the door before walking in calmly. As Swift walked in, some of the younger guards looked up before abandoning their dice game and quickly standing at attention. Swift chuckled to himself when he saw that the more seasoned guards barley even bothered to glance up from what they were doing. Whether it was reading, sharpening swords or spears, or doing a few basic sparing techniques. He dismissed the young ones with a wave of his hand before walking towards the back of the barracks, where he found a few of his old friends. "Hey, any of you guys up for a quick race?" he asked while leaning against a nearby bunk. One of them was a red furred and thick set cheetah named Breeze. He was not the most agile of the cheetahs, but he was fast, and he didn't mind getting in a scrap every now and then. Often starting them with him smartass remarks. He looked up from the book he was reading "sure, why not. There's not a lot else to do. As long as you don't mind having your ass whipped again?" he laughed. "haha. Good one, but we all know who the real winner is going to be. I'm in!" said a sandy brown lynx named willow. She was thin, but had decent muscle build to her. She was Extremely agile and could easily outmaneuver most opponents. Not to mention Swift has had a crush on her since when they first joined the guard, but had never had the courage to ask her out. "all this talk is good, but we will only find out once we start." Swift said with a small laugh. "then what are we waiting for? Lets go already!" Breeze said sarcastically. They all stood and made their way outside.

"Ok, so we will start here outside the barracks and head towards the town square. Once there we will make our way over to the eastern wall near the gates, over the wall and into the valley towards the river. First to make it across the river and up to the top of the big tree there will win." Swift explained as they got ready on the starting point. "you!" Breeze shouted at one of the young guards hanging around to watch the race start. The boy jumped a bit before walking over "Y-y-yes sir?" he asked nervously. "count down to the start of the race for us will you? A count from three should be enough." "O-okay sir."

They all got on the starting line. "one!" the boy yelled. "two!" they all hunched over slightly. "three!" They all took off like arrows from a bow. Willow dropped to all fours and ran as hard as she could down the center of the street, taking an early lead. Swift stayed on two paws and ran nimbly off to one side, jumping over any crates in his way. He was followed closely by Breeze who was running with his arms pumping wildly down the center of the street behind willow. As the first major obstacle in the race came into sight, a large group of vending stands, willow jumped back onto two paws and decided to go over the stands. Using a crate, she launched herself high into the air and landed gently on a post above the stands before jumping from roof board to roof board nimbly. Swift wasn't far behind and instead, slid under the first stand and ran full tilt down the small alley between the stands, bringing forth many cries of anger and annoyance from the vendors he narrowly missed. Breeze wasn't going to try either of those paths so he ran swiftly around the side, dodging between the people and small barrels of goods in his way. By the time they were through, Breeze had taken the lead followed by Willow, then Swift. Swift wasn't going to stay there for long though. The town square was rapidly approaching, and there was a wall of buildings and fences in the way. Breeze attempted to vault one of the fences and ended up face down in the dirt, while willow quickly scrambled over a wall and on top of a house. Swift saw this as his opportunity and quickly scanned the buildings. The only thing that he could see besides crawling over a house was one solitary open window. He narrowed his eyes in concentration and ran for it. He jumped head first and twisted his body as he flew, corkscrewing through the open window, and barely clearing the space with inches to spare. He rolled when he landed in the house and instantly stood back up in a run, jumping out the door. He yowled in triumph for his plan worked, giving him the lead.

Willow had just made it over the building and front flipped gracefully off the roof landing gently and taking off after Swift, she had an advantage in speed the others didn't, and she used it to its fullest. Breeze was, again in last, but roared in rage and put on a rare burst of speed that few ever saw. He bound heavily after the two, gaining ground faster than anyone thought possible. His agility also seemed to have increased, but in reality he was just more focused on the singular thought of winning than anything else, which in turn lent him faster reflexes. Swift glanced over his shoulder to see both of his opponents mere feet behind him and gasped. He thought his lead was greater than that!

He turned back to the task at hand, the busy main street they were following. He scanned the area for the least crowded rout. What he came up with was rather supprising, as he ran at the nearby wall of a building, and jumped. Swift grabbed ahold of the window ledge above his head, and using upper body strength alone, hauled himself up onto it, then jumped to the next ledge and up onto the roof from there.

The others had a commanding lead at this point, but had to struggle through dense crowds. Breeze simply hollered "out of the way!" repeatedly as he ran, while willow stealthily slipped through gaps between people that didn't seem big enough for her to fit, but somehow did. Seeing this Swift smiled and then refocused on not falling headlong to the streets bwetween buildings, as he jumped and flipped across the rooftops. His path was mostly unhindered and he was making great time towards the wall.

As the wall rapidly approached, Swift made a split second decision and threw himself into a soaring jump off of the house he stood on, and right over the wall. As he freefell towards the ground, he realized his mistake nanoseconds before colliding heavily with a rock. Swift rolled the moment he touched down, but it wasn't enough to absorb all of the impact, sending a jolt of pain up his legs. He fell sideways out of the roll and lay there for a few seconds, stunned.

Willow had made it to the wall at this point and still thought she was in the lead. She climbed one of the guard tower supports quickly and dropped over the wall and onto the ground without even a slight hesitation or stumble. She did not see Swift laying down so she dropped to all fours again and made a mad dash for the river. Breeze was only seconds behind her, opting to go through the open gate and the crowds of people than risk the wall. He noticed willow racing away and shot after her without a second glance.

Swift slowly stood up before taking a deep breath and putting his weight onto the injured foot. It held up well, and only gave off minor pain. So not wanting to show his friends how badly he had hurt himself he ran, to the best of his ability, after them. When Swift reached the tree he didn't even bother climbing it. Willow was howling victoriously from the top while Breeze was busy huffing and panting to regain his breath. Swift leaned against the trunk and gave the two a soft and breathless "good race."

Willow had climbed down and didn't seem to be any more tired than from before the race. "and the crowd goes wild '_aaahhhh!'" _ She exclaimed happily. "Yeah, yeah. Don't rub it in." Breeze huffed breathlessly. Swift and Willow both laughed at this. Breeze joined in a few seconds later. "But seriously, good race." Swift said as he gave Willow a friendly handshake. She smiled "maybe you'll have better luck next time Swift." She said back. "Yeah, I thought you had me beat by a mile. What happened?" Breeze asked. "Nothing much. I just landed a little weird on a large rock, ill be fine." Swift said with a dismissive wave.

"If you say so man." Breeze said with a skeptical look on his face. They all sat around the base of the tree for a while, backs against the trunk in companionable silence. After about fifteen minutes of banter and joking, Swift stood with a groan. He stretched carefully and popped his back with a contented sigh. "Well, I have to be getting home now. Dads got a visitor over and he needs my help." He said, being careful to give out information. Even to his friends. "alright man. Ill see you later tonight for guard duty." Breeze said evenly. Not bothering to get up or even look over at Swift. Willow also said her goodbyes, but she decided to give him a hug before walking away. Swift blushed slightly at that, but not enough to be noticeable.

Swift took his time walking home, careful not to over exert his leg. He slowly entered the house and sat down in one of the chairs with a tired sigh. Meadow walked in and asked how his evening went. He explained the race and his fall. Meadow gave him a stern look before giving him some herbs to sooth the pain and telling Swift to go rest. He obeyed without any argument and went to sleep until his shift came up.

After Swift left to go sleep, Meadow checked his herb collection to make sure he was stocked. Once satisfied, he nodded to himself and went to check on Cynder. As he peered in passed the curtain, she was just waking up. "how was your nap?" Meadow asked politely. "good." Cynder replied. "I definitely needed it." Meadow and Cynder shared a small chuckle at that. Meadow walked over and sat down in one of the basic wooden chairs in the room. "so, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask a few questions about what the hermit said." Meadow tentivly asked. Cynders mood darkened noticeably, but she agreed.

Cynder retold all of what had happened. "when he told you to come talk to me, what exactly did he say?" Meadow questioned. Cynder had to think for a bit "I think his exact words went something like 'when your hope of finding spyro caves, seek out meadow. Your answer will be there.' But I've come to you and still I have no answer." She said depressed. Meadow frowned "I always hate the way he words his sentences. I can barely ever understand." They sat quietly for a bit. "Wait" Cynder said "what if he hid the actual meaning behind a bunch of words?" Meadow looked up curiously "what do you mean?" "Well he didn't say I'd find my answer with _you_, but said _there."_ She muttered quietly to herself for a bit. Meadow watched with interest until a sparkle came to her eye. "I get it! When he said 'when your will _caves,_ _seek out meadow' _what if he was referring to when we found you the first time!? He did seem to put a little emphasis on 'caves' now that I think about it." Meadow looked surprised. "But I thought you would have searched that old cave already?" "No, I actually kinda forgot about it" Cynder said sheepishly. "well, lets get going then!" meadow exclaimed.

Meadow grabbed his walking staff and some medical supplies while Cynder waited out front for him. They walked quickly to the gate and out into the valley. Instead of turning south, this time they went north walking as quickly as they could without using excess energy. When the cave came into sight cynder ran full tilt at it, leaving Meadow behind in eagerness. She bound into the cave and down the pathway within. As she went deeper Cynder began to notice a slight yellow glow she didn't remember from before, so she slowed to a walk and took up a defensive posture.

The glow seemed to get brighter as she continued further into the cave. "Spyro? Are you there?" she called out tensely. The glow was now lighting up most of the small corridor. As she rounded the final corner into the larger cave itself, Cynder stared at the caves center for a while before collapsing on the floor. "oh no…..no! No! NO! not again!" She yelled as she began to cry and sob loudly. Meadow heard her yelling and ran into the cave. He stared unbelievingly into it before turning to cynder and attempting to comfort her.

In the center of the cave was spyro. Still in his final pose before realesing the energy that had pulled the world back together. But he was completely encased within the bright yellow crystal he and Cynder had been trapped in for three years, but this time it was much thicker perhaps eight to ten feet thick. He was trapped in time, and they had no clue if they could get him out this time, or even if he was still alive within.

**Hey everyone sorry for the wait. My boss has scheduled me to work almost every day of the week now, and sadly school and work come before writing. I think I did a decent job of making this chapter longer. Honestly im supprised I was able to crank this chapter out so early! Ill try to update every few days or so, and Im still working on where this story is going to go. Iv got most of the plot planned out, but who knows. Ideas and reviews are appreciated. Thanks for reading and hopefully you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it!**

**JVuk out!**


	3. Chapter 3

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 3

**Hey guys. Sorry for the long wait, but schools been hectic as has work and I haven't had much time to wright. This chapter will introduce one more OC I'm thinking about having leave with the group later in the story. I haven't decided yet. Well here it is, so enjoy!**

Cynder had been crying for a good five minutes before Meadow had finally calmed her down enough to leave. As they were on their way back to the village Meadow said "when we get back ill go get Prowlus and see what we can do to maybe chisel him out of there. You two were only trapped for so long last time because no one knew where you were." "But he might not have survived this time. After spending so much energy, to go and try that again? And gain 'greater' success? It could have finished him off!" she said in a depressed voice while still sniffling. "Now we don't know that. Spyro is a very resilient dragon, and I don't think he'd give up so easily. Keep your head and hopes up! There's always a chance" Meadow said encouragingly. Cynder gave a weak smile and turned to face the village once again, still recovering from the sadness and shock of finding spyro. _'Maybe Meadow is right' cynder thought to herself 'but still, if there's one thing I have learned during the war, it's to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst._' she continued to think while putting on a blank and emotionless face to hide her sadness.

When they reached the village, the first person they met was Swift. He ran out to them. "Where did you guys go!? I woke up and you were gone, did you guys find something? Or visit the hermit?" Swift asked excitedly. Cynder's false face of calm instantly melted into a look of despair at being reminded of what they found. Seeing this worried Swift. "What did you guys find? Did you find him? Where is he? Unless…. He's dead, isn't he?" Swift said darkly. "We found him alright, but whether he's dead or not… we don't know." Meadow said. "how could you not tell if he was dead or not? You're the medicine man around here! It's as simple as whether he's breathing or not." Swift said exasperated and angry. "Don't you tell me what I know and don't know BOY!? You don't know the whole story yet! And I thought I taught you not to jump to conclusions." Meadow yelled at his son in rage at his ignorance. Swift flinched and seemed to lose some height at his father's anger. "I'm sorry sir. It won't happen again" Swift said submissively while looking at the ground in shame.

Meadow was still angry with his son but said with a less than pleased voice, "that will do for now. We need to get to Prowlus and see what we can do for Spyro." Swift nodded while Cynder sat quietly throughout the whole thing. She stood and walked along with the father and son as they made their way to chief Prowlus' house. Cynder was still thinking on how to act if spyro didn't '_no! I can't think like that! He has to be alive. He can't be dead, not after I confessed my feelings." _ But then she lost some of her determination '_then again, he probably didn't hear me. There was so much going on, and he was so focused then. if he didn't hear me, then what's the use? I won't know if he loved me back or if he even knew I loved him.' _Cynder thought as her hopes sank like a rock through water. "We are here." Meadow said calmly.

Cynder looked up to see one of the houses near the town square. It looked just like the others, except for an intricate carving next to the door on the right. It was about head height, for a cheetah, and looked like a series of looped ropes making a woven, chainlike shape that extended in three directions. At closer inspection, Cynder noticed it was actually carved as one long rope that made up the whole thing. The intricate designs within the carved ropes sections and loops were highly detailed and amazing. They depicted many hunts and battles, and others were of construction of buildings or farmers farming and fisheries hauling in their catches. There was no way it was done without the aid of magic, cynder thought as Meadow knocked and waited for Prowlus emerge.

Prowlus came and answered the door with a bleary look in his eyes. He tiredly asked "whose come knocking this late at night? Whatever it is it can probably wait till morning. If not then…." he said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes "oh Meadow, Cynder it's you. What brings you here at this hour?" Prowlus asked. "We have news about spyro. We found him, but we will need help in retrieving him." Meadow said. "What kind of help? Do I need to assemble a raiding party? Bow and spearmen for an attack? Who holds him captive?" Prowlus asked as he straightened up at hearing they found spyro. Meadow gave a light chuckle. "Not that kind of help. He isn't being held by any enemies, but he is being held. It's easier to show than to tell. Gather your things and meet us by the gates. Bring the stone mason and his apprentice if you can." Meadow said before turning to head towards the gate. Prowlus had a confused look at hearing that the stone mason was needed, but reluctantly went about as asked.

About ten minutes later, Prowlus and the stone mason, a cheetah by the name of reed, and his apprentice, a she-cheetah called heather, in tow. Heather was a thin but strong cheetah with golden yellow fur, but instead of having the average spots like a cheetah, she had stripes much like a tigers and her eyes were a piercing sapphire blue. She was a very kind person and was constantly trying to help others, and she was probably the kindest soul in the village. Swift had met her a few times, but never really kicked off a good friendship with her. The mason looked angrily at Meadow an' Cynder. "This better be worth th' time needed to do this. I've a pillar to be Carvin' and pollishin', and lessons to be teachin' to heather here." Meadow looked at the cheetah with a frown "well, if saving the savior of this world isn't worth your time, can look elsewhere." Reed looked surprised at this and looked to Prowlus for confirmation. "I am just as much in the dark as you." Prowlus said. Reed looked back to Meadow. "Well I guess we should see if the crazy old medicine man is right." Reed said with a sigh.

They walked to the cave and began their journey into the main cavern. It wasn't long until the crystal's soft glow began to invade the passage. As the group went to round the corner into the main cavern, Cynder stopped and sat facing the direction they had come. The others looked at her briefly before continuing, knowing she had seen enough for the time being. Reed and Prowlus both gasped when they saw Spyro, while heather covered her mouth with her paws. "We don't know if he is alive or not in there, but Cynder and Spyro survived for three years in the same type of crystal. It seems to suspend the person in question in time while their body continues to age normally. If he had enough strength to survive before being imprisoned, then he should be ok. If we can get him out." Meadow explained as Reed walked around the crystal, examining it from many angles and feeling its texture as he went.

He pulled out a small chisel and hammers and struck part of the crystal that was as far away from spyro as he could get. The crystal made a very odd reverberating noise when he struck it, but no chip or scratch had been made. "Hmm. I've never seen anything like this. The texture and look of it represents the crystals the dragons use to heal themselves, but it seems to be much stronger, yet it is formed in such a way that we can see through it and it reverberates as if hollow." He said after a while. "But how can it be hollow?" Prowlus asked. "That's just the thing. It sounds like it but it's not. It makes very little sense to me. If I was given enough time, I could probably work it out." Reed said. "So you'll work on this then? You'll work to free spyro from his self-made prison?" Cynder said from behind the group. They all turned to look at her and Reed said "Yes. The only thing I ask in return is that I get to keep the crystal after we free him. I want to study it more thoroughly." "That's fine by me." Cynder said. "Then get to it good sir. Report back to me with your progress tomorrow before sunset." Prowlus said.

As Prowlus, Cynder, Swift, and Meadow turned and began to walk back to the mouth of the cave, Heather walked with them. Reed had sent her to go get some of his more complex and useful tools. "Don't worry." Heather said to Cynder "if anyone can get him out of that Crystal alive, master Reed can." She said with a comforting pat on the shoulder. Cynder looked at her with a small smile forming on her face. "Thank you, you have no idea how much that means to me." Cynder said. Heather smiled and kept walking, making friendly chat with Cynder on the way back to the village.

-

The next day, Cynder decided to accompany Swift on a training exercise with his squad. He grabbed Willow, Breeze, and a few of the young cadets. As Cynder walked into the field in front of the gates, Swift shouted "Alright we are all here. Today we will be doing basic endurance, agility, and survival work. Break into three groups!" the cadets split into three groups of four each. Swift pointed at one group "you are group 'A'. You will be going with breeze and practicing survival for the first few hours!" he said. They groaned quietly before following Breeze away into the forested area in the valley. "You!" he said, pointing at the next group "Your group 'B'. You will be heading with Willow and working on endurance." Most of the youth didn't seem to mind spending the day around Willow. She had snuck around behind them however and yelled at the top of her lungs "MOVE! ANYONE WHO FALLS MORE THAN TEN FEET BEHIND ME WILL BE ON CHORE DUTY FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK!" she immediately took off running. All the cadets jumped in fright before running after her like, well, like cheetahs on a hunt for lack of a better phrase. Cynder chuckled quietly as she watched them go. "Team 'C', you will be with me. We are heading over to the base of the falls and will be working our way up and around the cliffs near there. We won't have climbing gear because it is being used on another project elsewhere. Cynder, if you wouldn't mind coming along, I would like to ask if you'd help with any cadets that fall." Swift asked. "Ok Swift, but be careful guys. I can only catch one of you at a time, and even then it's a lot of strain to land safely." Cynder said cautiously to the cadet group. They all looked at her with some form of fear or extreme caution in their eyes. "Swift, are you sure that we can trust the terror of the skies with saving us if we fall?" one of them said. The others murmured their agreement.

Cynder looked down with hurt evident in her eyes. "I thought no one cared about that anymore. I thought my helping spyro would help redeem my name." She said quietly. Swift turned to the cadet with anger burning tangibly in his eyes. "She just offered to save your miserable lives from the falls that are bound to happen today, and you sorry lot turn and ask something like that!? Not a one of you is good enough to scale the cliffs yet, which is why we practice, and the one person that will save your lives today is treated as if she has plague. I expected more from avalarian raised Cheetahs! If you haven't forgotten, Cynder was there with Spyro working to save this world too! As far as I'm concerned, which involves you sorry group too, id trust her with everything I have. I'd willingly go into battle next to Cynder here. The lack of gratitude and respect is dually noted" Swift said seething. The cadet in question was standing defensively at this point, expecting his commander to attack him. "It's ok Swift, let them be. I've come to terms with what I have done. I'm not proud of it, but I can't change the past so instead I will focus on the future. Hopefully one I can spend with spyro." Cynder said. Her voice still had pain in it, but less so than before. "You don't need to come along if you don't feel like it Cynder. I'll have the lads cut down a tree or two and make a few harnesses out of wood and tree fiber." Swift said to Cynder, but loud enough for the cadets to hear. "No, it's okay Swift. I'll come along; you need someone to watch your climb too. Plus while spyro and I were chained together, we learned how to climb cliffs quite efficiently with a partner. If we grab about fifteen feet of rope for each pair, I can show them a thing or two." Cynder replied. "Okay, but feel free to leave at any time. Your only here as long as you want to be." Swift said before turning to the cadets. "OK boys! We aren't going to get up those cliffs standing here now are we!? MOVE OUT!" he yelled as they began a quick jog in a block formation up the riverbank. Swift kept the pace up with a rhyming tune or two as they ran. Cynder flew overhead at a leisurely pace, but still keeping up with the small group.

A few hours later Swift, Cynder, and their group arrived back at the training field. Willows group had shown up mere seconds before, and they were all panting and slumped against nearby trees and rocks, or laying on their backs on the ground. The cadets in Swifts group weren't much better off. There was a lot less panting, but all of them were covered in sweat from the work. Most of them also had bruises and a few cuts or scratches from a couple falls. Nothing serious thanks to cynder, but still a few good bleeders. As the cadets were recuperating, Swift and Willow began to talk about how their separate groups had done. "Well, most of them were able to hold a steady run for a good thirty minutes." Willow said, "But they still need to work at it. I don't know how well they would hold up in a fight while carrying up to thirty pounds of metal armor and weapons." She shook her head, but had a pleased smile on her face. "MY group had a rough start, but once they all got the hang of climbing, they began to improve immensely. Cynder even helped by showing them a few two person tricks that require less effort and energy than climbing alone!" Swift said happy with their progress. Cynder smiled at the praise. "so do you think Breeze is going to pull one of his surprise attacks on us again with his group?" Swift asked. Willow laughed loudly, "Knowing him, I'd bet money on it. We should probably give them a bit of a warning, but nothing too obvious." Willow replied. Cynder perked up, "I can do that. They are less likely to focus on what I say and put less meaning into my words than yours." She said. "If you really want to." Swift said with a shrug.

Cynder walked towards the group of Cheetahs. "Before I go back to my own business, I'd like to give some parting advice." She said loudly to get the cadet's attention. When they were all looking at her, Cynder continued speaking. "In any battle situation, there will be victories and defeats. The days will be long, and many will be tired and sore. But everyone needs to continue with training, even when it feels as if your feet will fall off." The cadet's groaned at having to listen to another speech. Cynder smiled when she noticed a red, stripped tail flick lightly over a bush out of the corner of her eye. "Often times the enemy will be intent on getting the better of a tired patrol or group. Your squad may have won a fight earlier that day, but any of the hostiles that escaped that fight may want revenge for a fallen friend or brother, and they may get some help ad decide to attack your camp." She explained "But why would they do something so rash? They lost a fight and are probably outnumbered. It makes little sense." One of the cadets spoke up. "That is true, but if they have the element of surprise, even without equal or greater numbers, they can still win. An unprepared large group is easy to take on if your group is ready and attacking. A good thing to do in a situation like this is to get the camp area set up and immediately post a guard and come up with a shift schedule. Decide who does what at what times, like who is standing guard, who is preparing food, who is strategizing on where to go next, and who is sleeping." Cynder said, "Never let anyone, except those sleeping or getting wounds treated, go without an active duty if at all possible. It keeps the senses and reflexes sharp." Cynder gave them all a dismissive nod and they went back to chatting with each other and comparing feats they had accomplished.

Cynder walked back over to Swift and Willow. "Now if I'd have said that, they would all be suspicious and paranoid beyond anything else." Swift said, impressed that Cynder had played her speech off as parting advice so easily. "And not a one of them noticed Breeze or his four Cadets move into position for an easy attack. It looks like it'll be the two on the left moving in first before the others on the right sweep in from behind in a pincer move. Breeze is in that tree directly above the group next to that big rock. He'll probably drop down next to one and scare the living hell out of him, or use some rope and catch one and silently haul him away. This'll be interesting." Willow commented.

Not two seconds later, the first group, on the left as Willow predicted, came running forward. Ape masks on and practice swords drawn, hooting and howling like crazed men. Swift and Willows groups had no time to react. Instead of forming up as they had practiced repeatedly, they panicked and they broke off in multiple directions. The second attacking group split up and chased down individual cadets, incapacitating them with rope in seconds. The only group that had formed up properly was the one by the tree Breeze was in. They were holding off the attacking group fairly well, at least until Breeze dropped down and grabbed two of them in headlocks. The third only lasted a few seconds longer before being overtaken and bound.

The cadets were all piled, still tied, in front of Swift and Willow. Breeze's group took their masks off and laughed openly at the others. They were clearly enjoying their victory. Once the group calmed down Breeze walked over to stand next to Swift, looking over at Cynder and giving her a small wink as he went. "So." Swift began "What have we here? I must applaud group 'A' for successfully taking out an enemy squad twice its size without even losing a single man. Groups 'B' and 'C' on the other hand, I am rather disappointed." He said as he paced back and forth in front of the bound and helpless cadets. "Cynder clearly warned you of what was coming. She gave you advice on how to avoid being caught unaware, and you did nothing. I don't want to hear any of this 'it wasn't fair! We were not told this would happen!' bullshit. I did not say that we were done training for the day, and we are here to train to be the best guards and soldiers we can be! A Veteran of the war with Malefor gives you tactical advice for a battle situation, and you disregarded it." He came to a stop in front of the group with his arms folded behind his back. Swift shook his head gently before looking over to Breeze's group. If you would be so kind as to remove your friend's bindings, we are finished for the day. Group 'A' wins tomorrow off from training for an exemplary sneak attack and execution of said attack." Swift called as he turned to walk back to the village, followed by Breeze, Willow, and Cynder. The cadets in 'A' cheered before helping the others free and up onto their feet.

"That was a very well done lesson. Maybe you should plan more of them?" Cynder suggested to the Trio of Cheetahs. "Oh, we already have. We just don't want to spread it around too much." Breeze said happily. Cynder smiled, "okay, well I'm going to go see how Reed is doing. Maybe see if he needs any help." Cynder said. "See you later Cynder!" Willow called. "Next time you'll have to join one of my lessons!" "Okay Willow. Have a good night." The others said their Farewells before going their separate ways.

Cynder jumped into the air and began her flight over to the cave. When she reached it, she did not hesitate to walk in. with some quickness to her step to see how far the two had gotten in the past day. She rounded the corner and gasped in pleasant surprise. Reed and Heather had already removed about a fourth of the crystal surrounding Spyro. Heather put down the large chunk she had been moving and came to talk with Cynder. "Like how it's going?" She asked. Cynder looked very shocked. "How did you two figure out how to remove the crystal so easily so fast?" Cynder asked awed. Reed walked around from the other side of the crystal. "Well, we chipped off a piece about th' size of your paw an' studied it thoroughly. I noticed that, when broken sharp-like, th' crystal resists an' shatters. But when th' outer edges of th' crystal are removed, th' inner crystal is exposed. Th' inside an' outside are two different materials that seem to be almost identical, but aren't. Th' outside is hard an' rigid, much like a diamond. But th' inner material is only hard when force is applied rapidly, like when it is struck with a hammer. If we remove th' outer layer an' then continue by pressing large amounts o' force over a slower period of time, th' inner crystal parts like th' layers o' an onion. It is still hard an' is in no way fluid, but it works better than chipping it away bit by bit with a hammer an' chisel. Plus th' larger chunks are easier to study." Reed said with a small chuckle. "Amazing." Cynder said as she walked around the now about seven foot thick crystal, looking over the entire thing, and looking at spyro to see if his condition had changed. Heather saw this and walked next to Cynder "another thing we've noticed is that when an object is submerged in some of the crystal we liquefied; please don't ask how. It's long and annoying to explain, the object seems to stand still in time. The crystal seems to have actually frozen time within itself. How we have no clue, but the object within doesn't lose any health or grow weak with hunger or dehydration during its submersion. So if he had the strength to survive he will be fine." Heather said cheerily. Cynder was amazed at how much they had learned about this mysterious crystal in so little time. "Now if you'll excuse us, I need my apprentices help with some delicate tools." Reed said. "Okay, I'll be back tomorrow around the same time to see how you've done. Thank you for this and good luck with it all." Cynder said as she turned and left the cave.

She flew back to the tree at the rivers fork for another nights rest. '_Well at this rate, spyro should be out in a few days. Oh, I hope he is okay in there!' _ Cynder thought to herself as she settled down for some well-deserved sleep, hoping it would be one of her last she had to sleep alone.

**Well there you go! That's it for chapter three. So I'm thinking of only bringing one OC besides swift along and I want it to be female, so who should I bring? Willow or Heather? Ill go into some deeper background on whichever one is chosen by you guys. I'd appreciate the help in deciding, because I can see where I could take either of them with swift. (I plan on having him fall for whichever is chosen) ill set up a poll on my profile, but a pm or review works as well. Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 4

**Hi everyone! Sorry for the long time between updates. I had a serious case of writers block, and my boss had me on for two weeks straight! Took a bit of thinking to pull this one out. And credit also goes to Twilight dragon god for helping with some of the editing. So here it is! enjoy**

Cynder woke early the next day. She was up and stretching by the time the sun began to crest the mountains. As Cynder prepared for the day ahead, she realized that there wasn't much going on today, as she knew, so she decided to head into town and talk with Meadow. As Cynder flew over towards the village and to meadows house she wondered if Spyro would still remember all the things they had gone through. She remembered that last time they woke from the crystal induced sleep, they had forgotten a few things and had lost the use of most of their power until they could recharge them. Cynder made a mental note to ask Reed to have a green crystal on hand when they freed Spyro.

Cynder landed outside the village gates and walked slowly into the village, taking her time so as to let meadow have a chance to fully wake. "Hello again cynder!" Swift called with a friendly wave and a smile. Cynder smiled and walked over to him. "Hey Swift. Isn't this the third or fourth day in a row I've seen you working the gates near dawn?" Cynder asked quizzically. Swift shook his head with a small chuckle. "That sounds about right, but when your senior guard officer, they work you hard to make sure you stay fit and battle ready" Swift said in reply, "but besides that, what brings you here so early in the morning again?"

Cynder sat back on her haunches. "Honestly, I came here today to talk with Meadow because I didn't know what else to do. I'm still in top condition for fighting, and my elements are charged. I didn't want to cause any more ruckus amongst your cadets by tagging along, and I didn't want to spend the day watching Reed and Heather slowly chip Spyro out of his prison." She said calmly. "Well if you get bored talking with dad, you can come train with us. I'll make sure to keep the cadets in line and it won't be a burden at all." Swift suggested with a small shrug. Cynder smirked slightly, "I'll keep that in mind. Well, I'll talk to you later Swift. I'm off to talk to Meadow now." Cynder said as she stood. Swift said his goodbye before heading off towards the barracks.

Cynder wound her way through the village until she came to Meadows house. She walked up the steps on the porch and knocked gently against the wooden door. A few moments later  
Meadow opened the door. "Cynder! Good morning and hello. Come in, come in!" Meadow bade. Cynder followed him in and sat across from him in front of a small table in the living room. Meadow grabbed a steaming cup of tea off the table and relaxed into the chair. "So what brings you here today?" Meadow asked between sips from the cup. "I was wondering if you could teach me about medicine and herbs and the like. I think it would be good to learn these things in case someone ever gets hurt while we are away from any healers." Cynder asked sheepishly. Meadow looked surprised at this, "of course I'll help you learn, though I wouldn't have taken you for one who would learn the healer's craft. We can begin now if you want to?" Meadow replied happily. "If it's no bother, that would be great!" Cynder replied. "Ok then, you already know how your species uses the crystals for most aliments, so we will start with a few basic herbs for things like stomach ache or headaches. The most common is…." Meadow began enthusiastically.  
-

Swift was busy working the cadets through some teamwork drills like capture the flag, and a few stealth drills. He would have the cadets split into four groups, (blue, green, red, and yellow) and set them up in two different games. One group would be working capture the flag with Breeze, while the other worked on stealth drills like an assassination game where one team had a V.I.P and the other team had to kill him before being noticed. Willow was leading these exercises. Swift was currently watching one of the capture the flag matches, and it was evident that the red team was more coordinated than the yellow team. They would send out a man or two right into enemy territory and to the left, while a larger squad came around the right. But the big thing was that while the yellows were distracted the reds sent their smaller and nimbler people through dense bushes or in treetops over the lines. They would go unnoticed and would hide very effectively whenever any yellows came near where they were.

Swift began talking to Breeze while keeping his eyes on the game "well so far it looks like red team is going to win." He said. "Sure looks that way Swift" Said breeze with a sigh. "That will put red up five to two if they win. Yellow group is going to need a lot more personal training time with one of us." Breeze said sadly. Swift nodded in agreement before snapping his head over it the right. A yellow cadet was running headlong towards his own side with the red flag and not a red in sight. The cadet sprinted with all his might towards the line, a few short meters away, when suddenly a wall of a cadet on the red team seemed to rise from the ground. He grabbed the yellow and smashed him into the ground. It was sufficed to say the poor yellow cadet was out, and had a few broken ribs too. Then a small red sprang from a tree and onto red ground, with the yellow flag in tow.

Breeze blew a small whistle as loud as he could, signifying the end of the game. When all the cadets were gathered he began his talk. "Well done by both sides, but the victory goes to the reds for the day," at hearing this, the red team yowled and hooted in victory. "But it was a very valiant effort on the yellows part. They fought well, but you need to coordinate and work as a team! The points you did score were only made because of a few lucky cadets. The point of this exercise is to teach team work and proper battle strategy. Reds will be moving over to stealth games tomorrow and yellows will face whoever gets sent over here. Tomorrow will be a simple battle exercise. Team verses team. Prepare yourselves yellow, and ready a strategy you see fit. Remember that traps and ambushes are expected! Dismissed!" Breeze finished with a smile.

Swift was happy with how the exercises had gone. The cadets seemed more attentive when it involved actual competition than when it was just forced march. He checked the suns position in the sky to see that it was about an hour after noon. He decided to take the rest of the day to visit with his father and Cynder. He began the walk back to his house with an air of content around him.

As Swift walked into the house, he heard his dad finish talking to someone about how rotwort would cause the afflicted person to expel any poisons that had been ingested. A wonderful topic to intrude on. "Hello! I'm back." Swift yelled to keep his father from rattling on for much longer. "We are in here." Meadow called from the kitchen area. Swift walked in to see Meadow with a large assortment of herbs in front of him on a counter and Cynder standing at his side looking slightly flustered. "Ah, we were just finishing up for the day. Cynder wanted to learn about medicine and healing." Meadow said to Swift before scooping up most of the herbs and carrying them into a storage closet. "Yeah? And why do you want to know all that stuff, Cynder? I thought those red crystals healed you dragons right up?" Swift asked. "That they do, but there have been far too many times when Spyro and I have been injured and without a red crystal around to heal us. It got annoying and I want to be able to help even without them." Cynder said sharply. "Ok, ok, jeez. Sorry I didn't mean to sound like an ass." Swift said with a light laugh. Cynder exhaled heavily. "Sorry I snapped at you. I'm just a little confused and trying to process all I've learned today." She said tiredly. Swift walked up to her and patted her on the shoulder "its ok Cynder. I was like this too when he tried to get me into the medicinal field. Except I kept combining the wrong ingredients and making poisons not healing tonics. That's when we decided maybe medicine wasn't the thing for me." Swift joked. Cynder laughed at that and her mood brightened noticeably. "Thanks, I needed that." Cynder said.

Swift was preparing to reply when the front door of the house flew open with a crash. Heather stood in the doorway. "Come quick! We are only a few minutes away from freeing Spyro!" Heather said excitedly. Cynder whooped loudly before turning and grabbing a large green crystal off the counter and running out the door before taking flight towards the cave. Swift ran ad grabbed Meadow and told him to start on his way over before running towards Chief Prowlus' house, vaulting flipping and climbing over anything in his way. "Chief Prowlus! Reed is about to free Spyro! We are headed there now!" Prowlus looked delighted at this news and joined swift in running to the gate. Swift didn't realize that Prowlus had learned Parkour before. He felt surprised that the older cheetah was still so nimble.

Cynder was first to reach the cave and ran into the central chamber and looked excitedly around, prepared to finally get to be with Spyro again. The four cheetahs showed up a few minutes later. Reed looked at the group before asking bluntly, "is that th' lot o' ya then? Or should I wait a bit longer?" Prowlus looked at the cheetah with exasperation. "this is all of us" Prowlus said. "Then let's get our savior out o' there!" Reed said "Heather! Be ready to catch this piece o' th' crystal!" Heather walked over to the indicated spot and stood ready. "On th' count o' three!" Reed yelled. He prepared his chisel and hammer. "One…..two….three!" on the last syllable he swung the hammer into the chisels base when the hammer connected, the crystal around Spyro exploded outwards and nocked Reed and Heather flying. Cynder covered her head and chest with her wings, while Swift and prowlus threw up their arms and crouched low. A baseball sized chunk bounced off Meadows chest and forced him into a sitting position before it landed in his lap.

After everyone had recovered, Cynder looked over to see spyro lying unconscious on the ground. She ran over to him and began to sniff about his head and neck, checking for a pulse, no one noticed that Reed and Heather were still unconscious from the blow. Swift and Prowlus soon joined her. "Spyro? Spyro wake up." Cynder kept saying over and over. Prowlus got sick of it and lightly slapped the side of Spyro's head and yelled "SPYRO!" Spyro's head quickly shot up before he snarled and jumped into a defensive stance. He looked around a bit before relaxing slightly. "C-c-cynder? Prowlus? What's going on? Did I not save the world? Are we all de-"Cynder cut him off "No! We aren't dead! You did it spyro! You saved the world! Somehow you brought us to the surface and encased yourself in that yellow crystal like before when we were trapped for three years. I don't know how I wasn't, but you're alive!" she shouted happily before bounding up to him and twining her neck around his.

"Umm…Cynder?" Spyro asked a bit confused. Cynder opened her eyes and realized what she was doing. She quickly untangled their necks and backed away a few steps. She was blushing like mad. "Sorry Spyro. I'm just so happy to be able to talk to you. I've been so close, yet unable to for weeks." He smiled back at her "Its ok Cynder, I just didn't expect it. I don't mind having you near me. So how long has it…?" Spyro trailed off and staggered a bit before flopping onto his side in exhaustion. Cynder gasped before remembering the green crystal she had. She put it down in front of him and placed his paw on it. A green energy began to slowly flow from it into Spyro.

As everyone was gathered around Spyro, no one noticed meadow had regained his senses. He shook his head and looked around at the floor before noticing the yellow crystal sitting in his lap. As he looked at it, Meadow noticed a small flicker moving around within the crystal. He looked in awe before picking it up and bringing it closer to his face to see it more clearly. As Meadow stared into the crystal the flicker began to take form. It looked like a thin tendril of darkness within the crystal. As he watched, it seemed to whip towards him. The shadow tendril then whipped out of the crystal and entered his agape mouth. Meadow yelled in surprise and dropped the crystal.

Spyro had regained enough energy to get into a sitting position. Everyone was crowded around him when they heard Meadows yelp of surprise. They all turned to look at him and spyro was able to see past them as they parted to give him a view. Meadow was kneeling on the ground clutching his head. He yelled out in pain before going silent and looking up at the group. Swift gasped in shock and prowlus took a step back in horror. Spyro and Cynder sat paralyzed as they looked at Meadow. His eyes were completely black and seemed to seep shadows. Meadow looked around before looking at his paws and raising one hand above his head to look at it. He then snapped his head back down to gaze at the group in front of him.

Meadow looked at them for a while before standing up onto his two feet. He grinned twistedly. What happened next struck fear into all their hearts. Behind him, Meadows shadow began to grow and change into a shape the two dragons knew too well. Meadow looked spyro dead in the eye before whispering "Hello again Spyro. Didn't I tell you you could never defeat me?" he said with a sneer. Spyro gasped as Meadow let out an evil laugh and disappeared into the shadows. Swift and Prowlus looked dumbstruck while Cynder shivered violently against Spyro's side. Spyro shook his head in disbelief before tucking his head in against Cynder's. Malefor was back.

**Dundunduun! Malefor is back! And he isn't happy that he lost his elemental powers. So I don't know how long it will be until the next update. As you can see, this one took a decent amount of time to finish. Ill try to keep it at weekly or every two weeks, but no promises! Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think!**

**JVuk out**


	5. Chapter 5

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 5

**Hey everyone. This chapter may be a little rushed, but I felt the need to write it. There is a bit of fluff in here for ya, and the adventure will be starting within the next chapter or two, yay! So far on the permanent OC voting, it looks like heather will be the one (winning five votes to two, both here and via friends not on fanfiction)! Next chapter should have a bit more background on her. So here it is! Enjoy**

"We have to go after him!" Swift exclaimed angrily at Prowlus. After Malefor had disappeared, the group returned to the village and met in Prowlus' house. It was late at night by this point, so no one knew that they were meeting. "You saw how he was! He isn't Meadow anymore. We all recognized that voice, and we need to warn warfang!" Prowlus snarled back "There is no point in chasing something or someone that is already lost." Swift reeled back in disgust. "How could you say that!? He was your friend! He still IS! We just need to help him and banish Malefor again. I won't give up on my father!" Swift yelled before getting up and running out of the house.

Prowlus looked sadly after him before putting his head in his hands and groaning. "What was I supposed to do? What should I have said?" he asked into his hands before looking up between his fingers at the two dragons sitting close together. Spyro looked over to Prowlus. "You already know what I'm going to say. We need to go after him, and save him if we can. Meadow is my friend too and I don't want him to die, but Malefor can't be allowed to try to regain his rule." Spyro said determinedly. "And what's your opinion Cynder?" Prowlus asked. "I go where Spyro does," Spyro draped a wing over her. "But I think we have a chance to save Meadow. No one thought I could be saved, and I wouldn't have unless Spyro tried, but he tried when no one else would and now I'm free. I won't believe Meadow is lost until he is no more." Prowlus looked between the two dragons sitting side by side. Prowlus looked down and slowly shook his head. "I hate to do this, but I can't send anyone with you. I would in other circumstances, but with Malefor back I need everyone i have for defending the town against possible attack. Stay as long as you need to recover, and we will give you as much supplies as we can for your adventure, but we can do no more. You can stay in Meadow's house if you wish, or you can go back to sleeping underneath the tree by the river" Prowlus said sorrowfully.

Spyro and Cynder thanked Prowlus before standing and leaving his house. "So where do you want to stay Cynder? I don't want to remain here for more than three days." She looked over at him, trusting him to guide her and keep her from running into anything. "Will you be ready in three days? I don't want to go into a dangerous situation if you aren't at full strength. I don't want you to get hurt." She said. Spyro smirked. "Since when has my health and fitness been one of your major concerns?" he asked teasingly. Cynder blushed before turning to focus on walking. "I think I'd like to stay under the tree. I wouldn't feel right sleeping in Meadows house." Cynder said, trying to change the subject. Spyro laughed and they walked in comfortable silence to the tree.

When they reached the tree, spyro went to lay down by the base of the tree. But before doing so, he walked around and found a decent amount of fallen twigs and large sticks. He broke them up and placed them in a neat pile before using his fire breath to ignite them into a small fire. He then went and laid down by the tree and looked over to Cynder who was sitting a few feet away, staring at the fire. "So, what have I missed?" spyro asked. Cynder turned her gaze to meet his before telling him of everything that had happened since she woke up, leaving out some of the more emotional bits. "And then we broke you free and you know the rest from there." She finished. Spyro was impressed with how much had happened in the week or so she had been awake. "Wow. You've had a busy time haven't you? Well sadly it is only going to get worse from here." He said negatively. Cynder looked at him before saying encouragingly "we beat him before, Spyro. We can do it again. And maybe it won't be as hard this time because he doesn't have control of his elements." Spyro looked into the fire for a long time before looking off into the night. "I guess you're right. I just hoped that maybe this world would finally get some peace, with or without me." He said "but enough of that. I'm tired and I'm betting you are too." Cynder smiled slightly before sweeping the fire out with her tail and lying down in the exact spot she had been sitting in. Spyro looked at her for a bit. "Cynder? Its warmer over here, I don't mind sharing a bit of ground." He said with a light chuckle. She looked over her side at him for a few seconds before slowly getting up and walking over towards him. Spyro scooted over a bit to make more room between the large roots he was sleeping between. Cynder very gingerly lay down next to him and curled up for warmth, but remained very rigid and tense. Spyro inched his way back over, leaving only centimeters between their scales. "Goodnight Cynder" spyro whispered before laying his head down on his paws and succumbing to sleeps hold. Cynder fell asleep only a few minutes later, despite her feeling awkward yet excited at sleeping so close to the one she loved.

The next morning Cynder slowly came awake. She was extremely groggy and didn't remember falling asleep with a blanket draped over her. As she came to, she noticed that it was not a blanket, but a wing, a familiar purple wing. Cynder jumped slightly and turned to see that in their sleep, she and Spyro had ended up pressed together and he had placed his wing over her subconsciously. Her rapid movements woke Spyro who blinked a few times before noticing what had happened. He was surprised at first, but quickly ended up with a smile on his face. Cynder noticed this and blushed madly before shuffling of Spyros wing and sitting up with her back to him. "Aww, I was comfortable there!" Spyro said jokingly. Cynder's blush grew even heavier at this. Spyro got up and sat down next to her, a smile still on his face. "Cynder, I dint know you were so shy!" he said teasingly. "I-i-I was…..i mean I just got" Cynder began to stutter out. Spyro laughed before getting up and sitting in front of her. "It's okay Cynder, I'm just teasing you. Besides, you don't need to feel so uncomfortable around me. I heard what you said." Cynder looked at him "what do you mean?" he smiled even wider. "I mean I heard what you said at the core, before I blacked out." She gasped as spyro leaned in close and whispered in her ear "and I love you too." He said before backing up to sit in front of her again. Cynder sat with a dumbstruck look on her face for a long while. "Spyro? Do you mean it?" she asked quietly with small tears forming in her eyes. "Of course I do Cynder. I just didn't have the courage to say it before now. I was waiting for a good time and this seems right. I love you Cynder, and I have since you were freed from Malefor's control."

Cynder was crying openly now, but they were tears of joy. "I love you too Spyro, but I didn't think you would love me back. That's why I didn't say it before I thought we were going to die." She said through her tears. Cynder stood up on her back legs and hopped closer to spyro before wrapping her forelegs around his neck in an awkward imitation of a hug. Spyro sat back on his haunches and returned the odd embrace, happiness and relief covering his face at finally telling Cynder how he felt. "Better late than never I guess." Spyro said teasingly while they still shared the hug. Cynder laughed softly before pulling away to look Spyro in the eyes. She sat there for a few seconds with a look of pure happiness on her face before smashing her lips into his in a passionate first kiss.

Spyro grunted in surprise at her ferocity, but his eyes quickly rolled back into his head as he melted into the kiss. They stayed that way until oxygen deprivation forced them to part with a haughty gasp. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that." Cynder huffed to spyro, who laughed loudly "Oh don't I?" he said before pulling her in for another passionate kiss. When they parted he moved around to Cynder's side and sat next to her. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he draped a wing over hers as their tails unintentionally twisted around each other. They sat like this for quite some time, slowly watching the sun finish rising as the river ran gently past them.

"As much as I'd like to stay like this forever, we have a world to save. Again." Spyro said to Cynder after about twenty minutes had passed. Cynder looked up at him before sitting back upright and looking off towards the village. "Probably good timing too. Someone is coming out of the gates and it looks like they are headed this way." Cynder said as she nudged his side and nodded towards the village. Spyro looked over to see that Cynder was right and a cheetah was making its way towards them. "Well, let's not keep them waiting!" spyro said before leaping into the air and soaring towards the distant cheetah, cynder was right behind him. As they flew Spyro noticed the cheetah stop and look up at them before waving to them and waiting near a large rock. They glided down and landed only a few feet from the cheetah. "Swift! What are you doing? Shouldn't you be watching the gate?" Cynder asked him.

"Yes, I should be, but I heard what you said to Prowlus last night after I left, and I'm coming with you. I may not be able to fly, but I can run to keep up." Swift said to the pair determinedly. "But did you not also hear that Prowlus won't spare any men to go with us? He won't let you leave with us." Spyro pointed out. "That may be, but I'm going after my father, with or without Prowlus' permission. Meadow is my only remaining family member and I won't let him go so easily." Swift growled between clenched teeth. "Ok, ok. Well, let me see if I can convince prowlus to pack for one more." Spyro said.

The group turned and walked back to the village, not stopping until they reached Prowlus' house. Swift knocked quickly and stepped back to wait for Prowlus to answer the door. When he did Prowlus looked first at Spyro and Cynder before looking over to Swift who had his arms crossed his tail flicked irritably from side to side. Prowlus looked back to Spyro with a stern look "I know what you're going to ask, but why don't you come in and we will talk this over. Prowlus stepped to the side to let them in.

After they had all been seated, prowlus sat down and rubbed his hands together and looked over at the trio. "You want to know if I'll let Swift join you in looking for Meadow." He sighed "and the answer is yes." Swift looked taken aback while Spyro and Cynder looked shocked. "You are going to let me leave that easily? Even after our argument last night?" Swift asked incredulously. "Yes. I've thought long and hard about what was said last night and I've decided to let you go after your father. No one should lose a parent like that. You have an hour to grab your kit and any supplies you will need before I ask you to leave Avalar. I won't expect you back unless Meadow is in tow." Prowlus said evenly. "I'm calling a meeting to inform the village of what's going on. I expect you to be there to say goodbye to your fellow guards and friends. "Thank you chief Prowlus. I'll come back with father or not at all." Swift said before running out to get his things. "That was incredibly nice of you. I didn't think you were that kind of person, Prowlus." Spyro said. Prowlus chuckled as he turned to look at the two dragons. "Well, someone had to be." Prowlus said before walking out of his house followed by the dragons. He stretched out his back with a soft groan of protest before looking around. "I better get to calling that meeting" Prowlus thought aloud before walking off, leaving Spyro and Cynder to wait for Swift to return.

**Sorry for the bad cutoff guys, but one of my friends was seriously considering suicide. I dropped everything and went to help him figure things out. His life is more important than some story so I didn't have the best frame of mind for writing right now. It may be a few weeks before the next update, so don't hate on me please! Graduation is also coming up soon, so wish me and my friend luck! We seriously need it! JVuk out**


	6. Chapter 6

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 6

**Hey again! I'm not dead! Sorry for the terribly long wait. I've had the worst case of writers block. This one is going to be a little short, sorry in advance. But here it is! enjoy**

A few minutes after their conversation, Prowlus was standing on a raised platform in front of the crowd that had gathered for the meeting. There was a lot of murmuring and talking about why this surprise meeting was being called. Spyro and Cynder were standing off to the side of the platform looking at Prowlus and waiting for him to begin the meeting. As they sat there, Prowlus grabbed a nearby wooden staff and slammed the end into the floor of the platform. Resulting in a very loud wooden _CRACK!_

Instantly the crowd was quiet. Prowlus looked evenly around the crowd before beginning his speech. "I gather that many of you want to know why I have gathered you. The first part of why we are here is to inform every one of the fact that our town healer, Meadow, has left. But not of his own will, he was taken. The two dragons you see here" Prowlus gestured at Spyro and Cynder "are going to be leaving to attempt to find and rescue him. Our head officer of the village watch, Swift, will be joining them. This may very well be an extremely dangerous trip and mission so we wish them the best of luck." Prowlus said. The crowd gave one loud cheer of "AVALAR!" as a show of thanks and good luck to the dragons and Swift.

Prowlus called to the crowd to regain silence. "Now for the part I wish I didn't have to say." The cheetahs of A looked at him curiously. "The identity of the one who took Meadow is known. As much as I wish it were not true, he is someone we all know from rather recent events." Prowlus paused and shuddered before continuing. "The culprit is Malefor." He said darkly. The entire gathering gasped loudly and began to panic. Most didn't want to believe it while others instantly went to hiding their loved ones. Prowlus looked around at the panicking crowed before snarling and smashing the wooden staff into the floor again. Most of the crowd stopped to look at their chief. He looked out over the crowd silently until everyone had regained a sense of order. "Let me finish. Malefor is not in a dragon's body anymore. His essence had somehow made it into the crystal that Spyro was stuck in. the only part of Malefor that made it was his conscience and some very basic powers, as far as we know. He is residing inside of meadows body, using it like a suit if armor. The team I have here is going to attempt to rend that entity from Meadow and bring him back to us. They are risking their lives yet again to save us and our people. I expect life here to continue as normal! The only change will be increased watch counts and guard numbers in patrols. This meeting is over." Prowlus said harshly as he threw the wood staff into an alley behind him. He then stalked off back to his house.

Spyro looked over at Cynder with obvious shock on his face. He had known Prowlus to be calm and collect in almost any situation, but this was very out of place behavior for the headstrong chief. Cynder looked back with just as much worry evident on hers. "Meadows loss must be really tearing him up." Cynder guessed. Spyro looked deep in thought, "Yeah, maybe. And knowing him, he won't tell anyone even if it is." He said sadly. They stood to go find Swift, knowing that he was probably at the guard's barracks. They took their time getting there, but when they did they found a large crowd of the cadets and older guardsmen and women crowded around Swift. They all had their hands on the shoulders of the guard or cadet in front of them all the way up to Swift, where the closest cheetahs were resting their hands on his shoulders or raised above his head. Willow was among the cheetahs right next to Swift and she was speaking. "-and we give this blessing to our fellow guard who is risking his life for the greater good of the many. Let his senses be sharp and his sword sharper, and let him stay strong even when weak and keep him from that void that is the afterlife. Avalar!?" she shouted the last bit. The guards shouted back "AVALAR!" Willow looked up, "And what do we say to lord Death!?" she yelled loudly. "NOT TODAY!" the guards shouted back before cheering loudly and lifting Swift on their shoulders, a few guards noticed Spyro and Cynder and lifted them up too, and carried the three of them to the gates, whooping and cheering the whole way.

Once they had reached the gates, the guards put the trio down and slowly dispersed back to their regular duties, until only Breeze and Willow were left. Swift smiled at his friends before pulling them into a bear hug. "Thanks you guys. I never expected to get the rangers blessing, hell I didn't even know you knew the words!" he exclaimed. They all laughed before pulling apart from the hug. "I couldn't ask for better friends. Maybe we will see each other again if I make it back." He said sadly. Breeze slugged him in the shoulder, "Don't be talking like that man, of course you will make it back! That's why we all prayed over ya! We know you'll be fine, the blessing was just for a little extra help." Breeze said cheerfully. "You know, we could come with you?" Willow said. Swift looked at her and said, "I would love to have you guys join us, but you are needed here. I don't trust anyone else with the position of head officer besides you Willow. No offense Breeze." Swift said with his hands raised in a slightly defensive manner. Breeze laughed "none taken bud, I wouldn't even trust myself with that position!" the others chuckled. "And you are needed for training the cadets Breeze, which is also a rather important spot." Swift said as he elbowed Breeze jokingly. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever man, but your right. They do need a bit more strict training and maybe I'll get away with that extra cracking-down because you're not here!" Breeze said back. The trio had one last chuckle at that before Breeze grabbed the other two in a tight bear hug. He lifted the two up before giving one large squeeze and putting them back down. "We are gonna miss you bud, so get this done quick and save your old man!" Breeze said before turning and walking back to the guard's barracks to grab the cadets.

"Well I guess that's that." Swift said while staring after Breeze. Willow sighed "yeah, I should probably get back to duty too. Tell Meadow I said hi when you save him." "I will, if I save him that is" Swift muttered. "I'll see you later Willow" he called before turning back to Spyro and Cynder. "I guess we are leaving sooner than I thought." Spyro said. "No, really?" Cynder asked teasingly as she flicked the end of his snout with her tail, making him snort in surprise at the sudden contact. She looked up at Swift, "are you ready now?" She asked him calmly. Swift looked at her before looking off at the horizon. "As ready as I'll ever be" He said confidently.

"Ok then! First off, I think we should go to warfang and let the elders know we are alive. We can decide where to go from there." Spyro said. "Alright, then to warfang we go!" Swift said before walking away. "Umm, Swift?" Cynder called. "Yeah?" Swift asked as he turned to look at the two dragons. "Warfang is that way." Cynder said, pointing the opposite direction and trying to stifle a small laugh. "Oh, whoops. Maybe you guys should lead?" Swift said, thoroughly embarrassed. "ok. We should take that tunnel we took last time. It was much faster than any other route." Cynder said to Spyro. "yeah, but I don't know if I can take that much time underground when I just woke up. I think I need some time to re gather my wits." Spyro said back, "Let's take an over ground route. It'll only add a day or two to our journey." He finished. Cynder sighed and rolled her eyes, "ok Spyro, we will take the above ground route, but your standing watch at night!" she said before dashing off down the valley, following the rivers banks. Spyro and Swift looked at each other then began walking after her. "Is she always like that?" Swift asked, "Because she was nothing like that before we freed you…..oh." Swift said as it dawned on him. "She told you?" Spyro smiled, "yeah, she told me." He said. "And do you love her back?" Swift asked. Spyro sighed and looked up to see Cynder flying and looping around in the air. "Yes, Yes I do. That's why she is like this. She didn't think I'd love her back, but now that she knows otherwise she is extremely happy and relaxed." He said. "Normally she is very, very serious and calculating, but she never had anyone to love or has had anyone love her back before. It's all new to her. I just hope I won't let her down" Spyro finished. Swift walked closer to Spyro and patted him on the shoulder, "of course you won't let her down. She'd kill you if you did!" Swift said to lighten the mood, which drew a light chuckle from Spyro. He looked back up before continuing their walk, talking about random things like battle tactics or moves and anything that came to their heads.

Cynder continued to fly above them; she had calmed down a bit and was providing an eagle's eye view to make sure nothing ahead would hinder their progress. Seeing nothing, she was left alone to think, and most of her thoughts turned back to Spyro and herself.

About six hours later the sun began to set, so the trio set up a small camp sight and cooked up a few fish Cynder had caught from a nearby pond for dinner. After they had eaten they sat around the campfire at talk. Spyro lay down with his front paws outstretched. "Well judging by the amount of time we were walking, I'd say we are maybe a little over a third the way to warfang. If we keep up a pace like this, we should make it there in two days?" Spyro asked before craning his neck to look at the dragoness propped up against his side. Cynder looked up at him through half closed eyes. "That sounds about right." She said. Swift sat across the fire from them in a cross-legged position. He pulled out a whet stone and began sharpening his sword. "so we will reach warfang, let the elders know you live, resupply our water and food stores, gain an idea of where Malefor took Dad, and go to save him. Simple enough so far." Swift said. Spyro glanced up at him, forcing himself to tear his gaze from Cynder. "Maybe when we reach warfang we should take some time to rest also. I'm still not at full strength, even with the crystals you gave me from Meadows supplies. I need to re sharpen my elemental skills and combat skills in much the same way you are sharpening you sword there." Spyro said.

Swift looked up at him. "I'd like to go get my father back as soon as possible, but going into battle with a 'dull sword' is suicide. So I don't mind taking a bit of time to let you refresh your skills. I'll ask that we try to limit it to two weeks' time though. We don't know what havoc Malefor's soul is causing to Meadows body." Swift said darkly. Spyro nodded understandingly to his friend. Swift looked to see Cynder had passed out against Spyro. "I'll take tonight's watch for you, considering your predicament." Swift joked. "Thanks Swift. I owe you one." Spyro said. Swift grunted acknowledgment as he stood and wrapped himself in his cloak and walking away from the camp a good twenty feet and climbed a tree and sat in the fork of said tree. Spyro watched him go before looking down lovingly at Cynder. "Goodnight Cyn." Spyro whispered before licking her cheek and laying his head down next to hers and wrapping his wings around her to keep her warm and close. Cynder mumbled in her sleep and wiggled closer to him. Spyro fell asleep with a smile on his face. Swift watched this happen from his post before turning back to the duty ant hand. He continually scanned the forest with his eyes, Praying for an uneventful night.

**Ok everyone. Not the longest chapter I know. I'll try to work on that. Will Meadow be saved? Will Heather finally show up? Will Swift find love? And will Spyro and Cynder's relationship be accepted by the elders? We will find out later in the story. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! JVuk out!**


	7. Chapter 7

TLOS: why we fight

Chapter 7

**Hi again everyone! Sorry for the long wait on this next chapter. If you're still reading this, thanks! And I hope you enjoy!**

It was morning and Cynder was woken by a beam of sun hitting her eye. She slowly stirred back to consciousness before noticing a weight on her shoulder. She lifted her head and looked down to see spyro's wing draped across her, and further down, their two entwined tails.

Cynder giggled quietly to herself before trying to find where his head was. She craned her neck around until she found it. It was only a few inches above where she had placed her head for the night. She smiled devilishly to herself before blowing small wisps of wind past his nose. Spyro grunted and snorted in his sleep before swatting at it with a paw. Cynder snickered quietly and began blowing the little gusts a little bit more frequently.

Spyro flailed a paw weakly at it and mumbled a few unintelligible words before rolling over so that he was facing away from her. Cynder giggled again and stood up softly before walking around to be in front of him again. She leaned in so that her face was only a few inches from his and stayed there, smiling evilly.

As spyro slowly came to, he noticed a blurry figure in front of him. "C-Cynder?" he muttered out questioningly. His question was met with a flurry of wind strong enough to make his scales feel like they were peeling off. Spyro jumped up and rolled backwards, still disoriented and not fully awake "What the hell!?" spyro shouted as he rubbed his eyes to clear the blurriness from them.

Cynder doubled over laughing at seeing his reaction. Spyro finished rubbing his eyes and looked at cynder with a frown on his face. "Cynder? Why did you do that? I was still sleeping!" he complained childishly. Cynder was laughing so hard she was crying. "OH! I got you! Y-You should have seen your face!" she said between fits of laughter.

Spyro smiled at her. "So that's how it is?" he asked her playfully "well two can play that game!" spyro yelled before diving over on top of her.

Cynder squeaked at the sudden weight before laughing lightly and playfully fighting for dominance. The two laughed and playfully fought and rolled around on the ground, turning their little campsite into a miniature disaster zone. They rolled sideways until finally they came to a stop at the base of a tree. Spyro was on top still and he had her pinned down. "I win Cynder! Accept defeat" he said playfully

Cynder struggled for a bit before slumping against the ground. "Okay spyro, I guess you win" she said playfully. Spyro smiled and loosened his grip on her a bit. Once cynder notice this, she surged upwards, knocking spyro onto his back and pinning him softly. "OR maybe not" Cynder said with a smug grin on her face.

"Damn it." Spyro said in defeat. "Ill get you next time though!" he said playfully before snaking his head up and kissing Cynder softly on the tip of her snout. Cynder blushed heavily and backed up off of Spyro quickly. "Well I see you two are up and about."

Spyro and Cynder both jumped and looked around before noticing swift. He was leaning against a tree, acting as nonchalant as he could. He pushed off the tree and walked slowly over to them, dusting his cloak off as he walked. "Not exactly what id expected two battle hardened veterans to do, but it was cute" Swift said sarcastically and playfully. The two dragons blushed furiously and looked away from him. Swift laughed loudly at that and sat down before pulling out a canteen of water and taking a drink.

"So, according to what you two have said, I'm guessing if we begin heading to warfang again within the next half hour, we should only be about a half days travel to reach the city tomorrow. Sound about right?" Swift asked the blushing couple. Spyro looked up and replied softly, "yeah, that sounds right. I think I'll fly above as our scout today." He then turned and licked Cynder on the cheek quickly before jumping into the air and flying away.

Cynder's blush grew even more noticeable when Spyro did this, and she coughed weakly to try and dispel the heat she felt on her face. Swift chuckled lightly and shook his head before standing up. He looked down to cynder. "You ready to go? Seems like Spyro is" Swift said while pointing over his shoulder. Cynder stood up and began walking, swift soon falling into step beside her.

As they walked, cynder and Swift talked about random things that came to mind or discussed things they had seen while walking. Spyro was high above them, keeping a watchful eye out for anything that might be dangerous. He didn't see much though.

There was a drop off they had to climb down a ways in front of them, but it still looked to be a good twenty minutes off. The forest extended out on either side of the two. To one side, a river and small lake were visible. And on the other side, a tall range of mountains acted like a guiding wall, leading them steadily towards warfang and the plains that surrounded it.

Spyro had made a pattern where he would fly ahead of the two a few hundred yards before circling back and turning about to come even with them once again. This pattern would take him in alternating semi-circles to either side of the two, making sure the surrounding forest was generally free of anything large or airborne.

The group stopped for lunch when they came across a reasonably sized pond. Cynder caught a few fish and Spyro caught a deer. Swift cooked the food and seasoned it with a few herbs he had been able to forage from the area. "Mmmm. The fish turned out great swift!" Cynder complimented as she finished her fish and began digging into her portion of the deer. Spyro grunted his agreement before quickly finishing his meal and rolling over on to his back and stretching "man, I feel like a good nap about now." He said lazily as he began to drift off.

Swift reached over and poked Spyro's exposed belly with a wooden fork he had carved. "You can't sleep now, we need to keep moving. Besides, you slept for a good four months inside that crystal" Swift joked as he finished the rest of his food. Cynder giggled lightly and spyro rolled over with a growl of annoyance. "Yeah, but that's not the same! That kind of sleep doesn't reenergize me. It just leaves me feeling drained" he whined. Cynder looked at him with fake pity. "aww. Is the legendary purple dragon tired? I'm sowwy" she said jokingly. Swift started laughing and spyro looked away embarrassed. "Fine, let's get moving then" Spyro said as he stood and looked back, waiting for the other two to get ready again.

"Alright," Swift said after re gathering his things, "let's go." The group began walking again. Spyro and cynder in the lead, standing side by side with their shoulders brushing lightly, and swift only a few feet behind doing his best to give them a bit of space.

Spyro was enjoying the time with Cynder; her scales brushing against his and their intertwined tails relaxed him. As they walked spyro looked over at cynder and draped a wing across her back, pulling her close. "So what's the first thing you wanna do after informing the guardians that we are still alive?" Spyro asked. Cynder walked in silence for a bit "Honestly I don't know. A better question is will the guardians be okay with us being together?" She said in return.

Spyro looked at the ground in thought for a few moments before replying "I really don't see why they would disapprove. But if they do, well, I could care less about their opinions. I've done enough running around for them, and you don't deserve to be treated as anything less than the amazing dragoness that you are." He said confidently.

Cynder blushed at hearing this "thanks Spyro. That means more than you know." She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, causing spyro to blush too. He quickly glanced over his shoulder to see Swift looking at anything but them and whistling a little tune. He had clearly seen and heard the whole conversation and was trying to act like he hadn't.

"Come on Swift, you don't need to sulk back there." Spyro called jokingly. Swift looked at him, feigning surprise at being called on, before catching up to them and keeping equal with them. Spyro kept his wing placed over Cynder's back and began talking to Swift.

"I can't tell you much about the city, other than its HUGE! But I know that the main inhabitants of the city are moles. There are a few other dragons, but I don't know how many, and I do believe there are a few Cheetahs scattered around the city. Hunter should be there unless he decided to take the tunnel back to Avalar" Spyro said. Swift looked down at Spyro before looking forward again. "I haven't met any moles, and even fewer dragons, so this should be interesting. It will be nice to see my uncle again too. I haven't talked with him in a very long time." Swift replied

Spyro looked at Swift surprised "Hunter is your uncle? I didn't know he had any family." Spyro said. "Well what did you expect spyro? We were at war and hunter's main job seemed to be keeping us alive! It's no surprise he didn't tell us about his family. So is he Meadows brother or….?" Cynder trailed off. "No. my mother was his sister" Swift replied "she and Meadow were married for five years before they had me, and she passed away nine years after that." He finished. "Oh, okay. Thank you for sharing" Cynder said. "it's no trouble. It's a story I've told often enough" Swift replied.

The trio kept talking and walking at a steady pace for a few more hours. The sun was nearing the horizon when spyro spoke up. "Let's stop for the night guys. We will pick up the pace again in the morning. Cynder, see if you can find us something to eat. Swift, would you go gather firewood? Ill circle around in a fifty yard radius and make sure nothing dangerous is out there" Cynder and Swift both nodded before walking off in their own directions. Spyro took to the skies and zoomed off before coming back at a glide and landing in a tree near their campsite. He stared at the bags Swift had dropped before scanning the area around the clearing with a sweep of his eyes.

After a few minutes of waiting, a shadow crept out from behind a few bushes and approached their bags. Spyro's eyes instantly locked onto the shadow and watched it approach. The figure looked around before crouching down and started rummaging through their things. Spyro took this chance and lept into the air and landed on the figures back, knocking it and their bags and stuff sprawling across the ground.

Spyro quickly jumped on the figure to pin it down. He heard a faint grunt as he landed on the figures back before he placed a claw to the hooded figure's neck. "Don't move or try anything. Answer any question I ask and answer truthfully and maybe I'll let you live, clear?" spyro asked. There was a muffled "Mmhm" from the figure, which was definitely female, before swift walked back into the clearing with a large amount of wood in his arms.

Seeing spyro and what was happening, Swift dropped the wood and ran over. "What happened and who is this?" Swift asked. "She was going through our bags when I found her. I thought I had smelled something earlier, but let it go. I smelled it again, so I thought to set a trap of sorts." Swift looked down at the person before removing the hood and recoiling in surprise "Heather!?" Swift yelled. He pushed spyro off of her and sat her up. "What in the hell are you doing here! Aren't you supposed to be back with reed in Avalar?" Swift scolded. Heather winced before looking up at him determinedly. "I don't have to be anywhere! I'm the same age as you and can choose what I do! I was looking through your things for a spare water skin because mine ran out." She said as she crossed her arms in a childish way.

Swift looked at her sternly before rolling his eyes. "you know that reed won't accept that answer considering he sees you like his own daughter." Swift retorted angrily. Heather shot him a withering glance "well it doesn't matter what reed thinks because I'm here and he isn't. so what are you guys going to do about it?" heather asked halfheartedly with some fear in her eyes. Swift looked back at spyro, who was thinking quietly to himself. "Well we can't send her back all alone and we don't have the time to escort her. I think our only option is to bring her with us, at least until warfang. Once there we can try and find a way to get her home without letting her go alone." Spyro said after a few minutes of thinking.

Swift looked at the ground in thought before snapping his head up and looking off to his left. Cynder was standing there, a large deer held by the neck in her jaws, and she had stepped on a stick. She looked surprised to see heather before looking questioningly at Spyro and Swift. "I'll explain in a bit." Spyro promised before going over and helping her drag the deer closer to the fire pit.

Swift looked back to heather and sighed "I guess spyro is right, but why were you following us in the first place?" he asked. Heather gave a light shrug of her shoulders "When my parents died, Meadow took care of me until prowlus convinced reed to take me in. I was with you guys for almost a full year, and I've always considered Meadow to be my father since then. When he was…taken….. I was just as scared and horrified as you were." Heather said quietly, her shoulders shaking softly as she hugged herself for comfort and warmth.

"But if meadow was caring for you for that long, how come I don't remember you?" swift asked puzzled. "I wondered that too until I remembered that meadow cared for me and kept me in your mothers old house. She would stay with you while he came to care for me. I was rather independent by the time two months had passed. He only needed to drop in to give me groceries and the like." She said to Swift. He looked off to his right in deep thought. "I don't remember him saying much about you. He would tell me he was off to collect herbs and would be gone for a few days. I guess he was visiting with you on a few of those huh?" Swift said with a light chuckle. Heather giggled quietly "yeah, but only on a few. Sometime he would take me herb hunting with him. we would be up all night looking for flowers or mushrooms and moss. I didn't realize until a few years later that most of those plants he had me chasing were either not real or didn't really do anything" Heather said fondly.

"haha yeah. He had me with a few of those too. The one he had me after most was cl-" "Cliff root." Heather cut in. Swift smiled and sighed "yeah. Never did come close to finding anything like it. What did he tell you it did? He told me it helped strengthen eyesight and sense of touch." Heather smiled "he told me it was good for bones and sore feet. Guess he couldn't keep those right could he?" She said jokingly. Swift laughed at this. They continued talking for another five minutes or so before Spyro approached to let them know the deer was ready.

Swift stood and offered a hand to help Heather up, but she shook her head and stood up on her own. The two walked over to see that spyro had cut the cooked deer into equal portions and was waiting for the others to take theirs before he took his. Once everyone had their food, spyro looked around briefly before digging in to his portion unceremoniously. Cynder shook her head softly before she began taking small bites of her deer. Swift went over to his bag and grabbed out two roughly hewn forks and two buck knives. He brought these back and gave a pair to heather before sitting down and digging into his own cut of deer.

Heather looked at it cautiously before taking her knife and fork and cutting a chunk off and bringing it to her mouth. She chewed the chunk slowly and carefully. To her surprise, it was very tasteful and juicy. She was more accustomed to eating part of a loaf of bread with some cheese and maybe a piece of salted pork if she was lucky. The meals reed gave her were never much, but she had grown to accept it and was able to thrive on so little. Seeing this much meat without bread or something else to back it was something she was very unaccustomed to and it wasn't what she had expected, but she was happy with how it had turned out and gladly finished her portion of the deer.

There was a lot of idle banter during dinner, and the finished after about ten to fifteen minutes. After dinner they took some time to talk about where they planned to go the next day, and made sure to remind themselves to slow the pace a little bit for heather, who hadn't been trained to march at such an unrelenting pace. It was Spyro's turn for watch duty, so he jumped up and flapped his wings a few times to carry him into a nearby tree's upper branches. He made himself comfortable and began scanning the general area with his eyes, turning his head only when he needed to.

Cynder looked off in the direction he had flown and sighed before curling up a few feet from the fire. She looked over to see Swift wrap himself up in his cloak and fall asleep quickly, or so it seemed. Her eyes trailed over to Heather who had also watched Swift and was attempting to roll herself up in the same manner. It didn't work so well, but her loos bundle of a cloak would suffice for the night. Cynder chuckled lightly at the failed attempts and closed her eyes, begging for sleep to come quickly. As unconsciousness began to creep in, she smiled knowing that she was safe with Spyro on watch.

**So that's it for chapter seven. Tell me what you think of how I brought heather in to this! If enough people don't like it, ill think up something else and repost this chap with the edits. Don't know when the next chapter will be done, so until next time! Jvuk out.**


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